Cougars return to practice, but starters make only brief appearance

PULLMAN – Luke Falk and the rest of the Washington State Cougars returned to the practice on Tuesday afternoon, but the quarterback did not stay long.

Falk and the other starters stayed only for the initial portion of the practice before heading to the weight room to lift weights.

Considering it was Falk’s first public appearance since he spent the Apple Cup watching from the sideline while recovering from a concussion, even a few quick reps were worth a celebration.

“It was really tough to watch and not be able to play, because that’s the game you’re looking forward to all year,” Falk said. “I’ve got it up on my wall: ‘Win the Apple Cup.’ It’s extra motivation. I was the first one out on the field today – really excited to get out there and it makes you appreciate the game more.”

The rest of the practice was devoted to the team’s less-experienced players. The scout team performers who rarely get chances to catch the eyes of Mike Leach or defensive coordinator Alex Grinch during practice were the focus on Tuesday, and the day’s events culminated with scrimmage.

Apart from extra time to develop next year’s contributors, the bowl practices also allow the coaches a second look at players who were perhaps not ready to contribute coming out of the preseason camp but caught up during the season once the depth chart was more established.

Prior to WSU’s last bowl game, the 2013 New Mexico Bowl, junior running back Theron West played almost exclusively on special teams, carrying the ball just one time for 1 yard in the regular season.

But he was one of WSU’s most important players in the bowl game, and certainly its most versatile. West had three rushes for 17 yards against Colorado State in the bowl game, three more receptions for 50 yards and a touchdown, and blocked a punt to set up a WSU score.

With so many young players on defense, including some who got late starts to the season such as defensive backs Calvin Green and Treshon Broughton, it’s not hard to see a similar breakout performance in the Sun Bowl.

“Everything’s an evaluation, that we do, in this program,” Grinch said. “Those guys that perform well, practice well, will have an opportunity to play in that bowl game.

“It’s an opportunity. You get more of a chance to work individually with guys and perfect your craft as much as anything else. It’s all hands on deck.

Tuesday’s practice was an audition of sorts for not only the players, but the graduate assistants at WSU. Eight of WSU’s nine assistant coaches were on the road recruiting, so practice was conducted largely by graduate assistants.

These opportunities to show off can pay dividends – Lincoln Riley was a graduate assistant under Leach at Texas Tech, was promoted to wide receiver’s coach. Now the offensive coordinator at Oklahoma, Riley won the Broyles Award earlier this week, which is given to the country’s best assistant coach.

Dahl an All-American

Despite missing Washington State’s final four games of the 2015 season, left tackle Joe Dahl was named a Second Team All-American by USA Today.

Dahl entered the season as one of the country’s most highly regarded pass blockers and he lived up to the billing, playing 692 snaps and giving up just three sacks, two quarterback hits and 12 quarterback hurries against the Pac-12’s cadre of pass rushers, according to data compiled by Pro Football Focus College.

Dahl was already named first-team all-conference by the Pac-12’s coaches and has accepted an invitation to play in the Senior Bowl in January before entering the NFL draft.